


the past can't haunt me if i don't let it

by pitchblackkoi



Category: The Bastards Crew
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Falling In Love, Mentions of being burned alive, Other, star-crossed lovers, this is the backstory folks and it is Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:25:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pitchblackkoi/pseuds/pitchblackkoi
Summary: Lise was always going to tell Wren what happened to them. They've just been putting it off because it hurts. But Wren asked, so who are they to deny them?





	the past can't haunt me if i don't let it

Lise and Wren lay in bed facing each other and quietly enjoying each other’s company. The pair had been talking earlier, but the conversation had faded into a comfortable silence. Lise wears a thin, white nightgown edged in lace and Wren is in an old, worn tank top and boy shorts. Lise has their eyes closed, not asleep but dozing, the end of their nightgown ridden up as Wren lets an idle hand rub along their thigh, the flesh part of their leg.

“Are you ever going to tell me what happened?” Wren asks softly, rubbing a thumb across the thick burn scars covering Lise’s thigh.

Lise freezes immediately on instinct, their eyes snapping open. The pair has been together for years at this point. Obviously the subject of Lise’s past has been brought up before. Wren has revealed their past, but they also don’t have the same hangups as Lise. They haven’t been around as long. Lise has given bits and pieces of their past in return, but this is different. This is Wren asking about the very beginning of their life. About how they became immortal.

“You don’t have to tell me now,” Wren backtracks. “Just wondering if I get to know someday.”

Lise releases a long breath. “No, it’s okay,” they assure them. “You should know. It’s just-- it’s a lot.”

Wren holds their hand and brings it up to their lips for a soft kiss. Lise smiles adoringly at them in response. Things are  _ good  _ with Wren. Better than their life has been for a long, long time. They trust Wren in a way they haven’t trusted anyone since, well.

“The planet I grew up on was big, beautiful,” they start. “I had a good life and a good family. I wanted for nothing. I got a good education, we could afford anything I could ask for, and I had friends. It wasn’t enough for me though. I wanted to  _ explore _ .” They laugh a little. “I suppose that was my big mistake. Leaving the city behind. Leaving the luxury behind.

“I ended up at this little village in the middle of nowhere, a little community of farmers and other small time workers. It was nice, though. I was housed by this older couple who never had kids. They were real nice, doted on me. I would watch people’s kids and do odd jobs around town. I felt better than I ever had in that little village. For a time anyways.

“I took to walks in the fields around the village. I hadn’t ever seen nature so untamed and wild so it fascinated me. One day I met a boy on my walk. He was sitting in a little meadow all by himself. I waved and said hello. He stood bolt upright and looked at me with wide, scared eyes. I realized suddenly that he looked different from me. He had horns and reptilian eyes. I was told all my life that people who looked like him were evil and not to talk to them, but he looked so afraid that I would hurt him that I figured he couldn’t be bad. So I sat down a distance away and just started talking to him. Told him my name, that I lived in the nearby village, other random things. He looked confused but sat down after a while. Slowly he began talking to me, too.” Lise shut their eyes a moment, overwhelmed by memories.

Wren rubs their thumb comfortingly across Lise’s hand. Lise releases a shaky breath and smiles before continuing. “His name was Luz. He worked in a factory nearby and liked to sit in the meadow to spend time alone. He was careful not to get caught by villagers. I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone and we ended up talking late into the evening. After that I always stopped by that meadow on my evening walks. He was there usually about once a week. We would sit and talk with each other, swapping stories. 

“The more I learned about his life, though, the sadder I got. He was being exploited for work. All of his people were. They were basically slaves. He didn’t like to talk about it.” Lise smiles sadly. “He always said he would rather see me smile. He brought me a gift, once. It wasn’t much, a little necklace he had made out of spare materials, but I loved it. I love it still.”

They lift a silver locket out of their nightgown. Wren has noticed, of course, that they never take it off. Opening the locket reveals a small blue stone. It isn’t cut, set completely rough into the inside of the locket. 

“I don’t know what it is. Could be a gemstone he found by chance or just a piece of blue glass. I’ve never wanted to know because it’s never been important,” they say, closing the locket. “It was a gift. Something given to me by someone who had nothing, but still found the time to be generous.”

“What happened?” Wren asks, voice rough.

“I fell in love,” Lise answers simply. “I fell in love with Luz and his kindness and soft smile and bright eyes. I shouldn’t have. I wasn’t supposed to. But I did. We met more and more frequently because we were young and in love and thought nothing would stop us. But they did.

“There was a boy in the village, I can’t even remember his name anymore, and he thought he was in love with me. I had noticed, kind of. He kept trying to court me but it was so in my periphery that I had never really given it thought. He followed me one day and saw me with Luz. And it was all over.

“I won’t go into all of the details,” they say, voice quiet. “They dragged us into the center of town and tied us up and burned us.” Their voice goes rough and their eyes go distant, remembering what happened. “Wren, there is nothing that hurts more than burning to death. But somehow I managed the strength to get free of the ropes and ran through the fire to attack them all. I was so goddamn  _ angry  _ and I could hear Luz’s screams so I just picked up a scythe a farmer had brought and…” They take a deep breath. “I massacred all of them. Not the children, of course, but all of the adults. I killed every one of them and when I turned to get Luz out, he was already dead. It was too late.”

A single tear rolls down Lise’s cheek. Wren wipes it away and Lise seen then that they are also crying. But they are staring intently and listening, so Lise continues.

“I collapsed after screaming and crying a while. When I woke Carmilla was there and, well, you know how it goes from there. I never fixed the planet, didn’t see how I could, but I didn’t burn it down either. I just left it. It sorted itself out, in the end. Both species live together now. I’m a legend there actually.”

Wren laughs, though the sound is a little choked. “Really?”

Lise laughs, too, and the sound has the same quality. “Yeah. The Avenging Angel they call me. Some people have little tokens with the Angel on them. I’m the protector of lovers, apparently.” They make a questioning sound. “I wonder why that always ends up being my role.”

Wren presses their forehead to Lise’s. “Thank you for telling me,” they whisper. “It explains a lot.”

One side of Lise’s lips upturns slightly. “It does, doesn’t it.”

“I love you,” Wren says, kissing them softly on the lips. “I won’t leave you, I promise.”

“I love you, too,” Lise replies. “But don’t make promises you can’t keep. I’m not afraid anymore, it’s okay.”


End file.
